The Ink-Stained Wretch

Simply Amazing (Song of the Day)

I had never seen the Postsecret site until today. I'm not sure I know what my darkest secret is, but it's infinitely soothing to know that so many people have similar thoughts...

And here's your musical accompanyment...the sweetest song in the world, "Watch the Sunrise" by Big Star...

Glug glug

Okay, so the woman who found the finger in her chili--allegedly--is not going to sue. But the best part of the article is this last paragraph (emphasis mine):

"Wendy's maintains the finger did not enter the food in its ingredients. It has offered a $50,000 reward in the case and was keeping open a hot line for tips, spokesman Denny Lynch said."

OS X Tiger Announced

Many more technical folk than I are already buzzing about the latest version of OS X which will be out in the next couple of weeks. If you're planning to upgrade (I know I am), Amazon has a $35 rebate offer right now on preorders. Jump on it.

Reelin' in the Years

“And I’m feeling for all the world like I’m feeling for all the world.”
–Jon Brion, “Hook, Line and Sinker”

For my birthday (yesterday) I got:

- A few hours to write. I can't remember the last time I sat down with more than two hours ahead of me to get some actual work done. I'd love to say I knocked it out of the park, but it was still good to focus for a while on the ol' novel.
- A nice blue blazer. I've never had one. I plan to look sharp in it.
- Took the kids to Opening Day. Not only did the Dodgers win in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, bases-loaded, down by 2, but Mr. Steve Garvey was sitting behind us. Damned if he didn't look younger than I. He signed our program where the kids and I had kept score throughout the game, something I hadn't done in a long while.
- Went with the whole mishpoche to the best damn pizza restaurant in L.A (I would tell you the name, but then more people might go there). June and I realized we'd been frequenting the establishment for the last 14 years. Yikes. (Okay, the hint is that it's in Eagle Rock, and it's called Casa Bianca Pizza Pie--but I'm not giving you the phone number).

Album of the Day - 4/11

With a shout out to Tom DeLay, a truly great American weighs in, "Good Old Boys" by Randy Newman.

"Louisiana 1927" remains one of my favorite songs, almost 20 years later...

Unitarian Jihad

From the first communication from Unitarian Jihad:

We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.

Jon Carroll broke this story, the first terrorist movement one might reasonably support.

Song of the Day - 4/8 - Hold 'em, Baby

So I was watching Has-Been Celebrity Deathmatch Extreme Makeover Poker the other night, 'cause my TiVo box told me to. My TiVo box runs my life and if it tells me to do something, Berkowitz-dog style, well then I listen to it. It has never steered me wrong, with the exception of the time it thought I would enjoy fourteen episodes of Carnivale at one time. I did not.

But in the middle of the lightning round of HBCDEMP, just as Dick York--or was it Dick Sargeant?--never mind, it was Norman Fell. Anyway, he was moving all-in with his cowboys against Tom Poston's nut flush draw, and scaring Charlotte Rae right out of the pot, and I flashed on my favorite poker song, Townes van Zandt's "Mr. Gold and Mr. Mud"

Song of the Day - 4/5

Feeling funky today. A lot of work, gotta deal with body shops and the usual hoo hah.

Not a good kind of funky, so I'm turing it around on itself with "Sugar Craft" by Medeski, Martin and Wood.

Poppy Love

June convinced me to get out of the garage (literally) and take the family out to see the poppies in Lancaster. And it was pretty frickin' glorious, I have to say.

Except for the little fender-bender a mile from home, we had a great day.

Song of the Day - 4/4

In honor of our trip to see the poppies
,
here is "Free From the City" by the Poppy Family.

Note that I wanted to use "Holly Up on Poppy" by XTC, but there doesn't appear to be any XTC on the Apple Music Store. Why not?

Song of the Day - 4/1

My son started in with the April Fool-ery at 6 am, and I just don't have the will to continue with it. So consider this a straight post, unlike some other people I could mention.

But I'm writing a lot more lately, so this song seemed both on the nose and appropriate. "When I Write the Book" by Rockpile.